Apple’s iPhone 6 and iWatch: all the good, bad and hopefully true rumours

TRUE, false or maybe? Here’s a round-up of all the rumours about the Apple iPhone 6 and iWatch which are likely to be revealed in just 12 days.

Rod Chester National technology writer

News Corp AustraliaAugust 28, 20147:06pm

Band on the run ... A possible vision of the Apple iWatch.Source:Supplied

ANOTHER day, another Apple rumour.

It’s less than a fortnight to Apple’s biggest launch of the year . And to help Apple fans sing along to “On the 12th day of iChristmas, Tim Cook gave to me ...”, here is a quick guide to some of the best and worst rumours about the iPhone and iWatch.

This was is set in stone, assuming that stone is not quite solid and subject to change. Apple hasn’t actually announced a date for the iPhone 6, nor has it said it will call its next smartphone the iPhone 6. Actually, you could write a book about what Apple has not said, although it would be a very small book. With no words.

Rumour quality: Solid gold. This is as good as a certainty and will be confirmed in the next few days. Still not sure? Think about this: when they send out an invitation to an event on September 9, the reflection of the nine will be in shape of a 6. Dan Brown couldn’t write stuff that good.

Expect queues ... September 9 is expected to be the release date for the new iPhone as well as the new iWatch.Source:News Limited

This is hot news today, courtesy of another scoop from Re/Code’s Paczkowski who says Apple will use the iPhone 6 launch to show off a new wearable. Interestingly, he doesn’t call it the iWatch. Interestingly, he also doesn’t call it a iWheelbarrow. Analyse that for the next few hours and you won’t be alone. Also, Paczkowski calls it “a new wearable” rather than “thenew wearable”. Does that mean there is more than one, in the way a bigamist has “a wife” in here, “a wife” in there and so on until he’s doing the hokey pokey.

Rumour quality: Paying respect to Paczkowski, it’s good enough for us. One big question remains, however. Given there are so many leaked photos of the iPhone 6, why are there no leaked photos of the iWatch?

In the race to be first with the latest iPhone leaked pics, it’s easy to opt for speed over certainty. TechRadar, to be fair, didn’t say they were certain this was actually an iPhone 6 in a box. Still, the fact the same iPhone 6 box was shown off in a YouTube video about a fake Made in China iPhone rip-off is a fair sign that this rumour was way off the mark.

Rumour quality: Some rumours are rated as “hits”. This is a rumour that puts the ‘s’ at the other end of that ranking.

One of the biggest challenges for those of us writing about as yet unannounced Apple products is that they are so unannounced nobody has even announced their name. The next iPhone will be probably be the iPhone 6 for the 4.7-inch version and the 5.5-inch version will probably be called iPhone Air, or the iPhone 6L — as in L for “larger than the other one” or “lame name”.

Rumour quality: Definite, by which we mean the next iPhone will definitely have a name. Unless of course Apple repeats the mistake of the New iPad which was a brilliant idea for a name until offcourse the next new iPad came out.

Take your wrist. Draw a 2.5-inch square on it. Does that look good? As a runner who straps his iPhone 5S to his arm, I’m already considering hitting the roids so that the bigger screen 4.7-inch or 5-inch iPhones don’t make my stick-like biceps look even more stick-like. The idea that Apple’s wearable band would be as wide as a playing card — surely they’re joking. It’s not an ace idea. Do they come in pairs? (I’ll see myself out).

Well, yes, it will — by which we mean that it will look more like than the original iPhone than it will look like a bucket. Unless you have a bucket that has an Apple logo, is either 4.7 inches or 5.5 inches in diagonal and has slightly rounded edges on the metal frame. This rumour came about following an observation that leaked photos by Feld & Volk reminded people of the original iPhone although one that had been flattened by a steamroller. Now, there’s a way to upstage the famous Steve Jobs moment of removing an iPad Air from out of an envelope.

Rumour quality: Sure, I look like my 103-year-old Grandma although she doesn’t run on iOS8.

Morgan Stanley predicts the iWatch will cost $300 and Apple will sell 30 to 60 million in the first year. How likely is that? $300 seems a reasonable price, given the factors — one of which is that Apple doesn’t do cheap. That would make it about the price of an iPad Mini and yet still much easier to wear it on your wrist.

According to some reports, the next iPhone 6 will come with “haptics” which is a technology that gives you the impression of feeling objects on the screen. The technology is supposed to imitate the feel of touch a button — but it sounds a little icky to us. Of course if you think it’s a good idea, we can take the conversation offline — I’ll begin by sending you the emoji of a smiling poo.

The iPhone 5S is only 8 megapixels yet it still is, arguably, the best camera in the smartphone market (yes, we said it’s an argument — but that’s the side take in the debate). Still, reports that the iPhone 6 will step it up to more megapixels seems to make sense.

Yes, it will because there is evidence Apple is ramping up production of sapphire, the product that will mean you’re less likely to shatter the glass screen of your iPhone. But then again, there is the rumour that Apple can’t make enough sapphire in time.

Rumour quality: Half and half — we’re predicting at least one iPhone model will have a sapphire screen. That way we can only be half wrong.

Speculation ... Set Solution has uploaded a YouTube clip of what the Apple iWatch will look like, based on the most recent rumours. Picture: YouTubeSource:Supplied

Yes, it will. Apple has hired about 100 people who are experts in wearable technology and fashion and they’re not there to make the coffee at Cupertino. (Disclaimer: I’ve been in the cafeteria at Cupertino and you can already buy coffee, or at least what Americans call coffee). The iWatch will monitor all sorts of bodily functions, with likely contenders being your heart rate, sweat, energy burn and perhaps even UV exposure. What else will it test? We’re not sure but we are wishing we hadn’t already used the smiling poo emoji.

Back to Paczkowski and his rumours. While dropping the whole “the iWatch is coming” scoop, he also joined the cast of many who point out that the wearable device from Apple is likely to be able to be used as a remote for app-control devices. This isn’t so much a rumour as a logical connection. You can control gadgets now through your iPhone or iPad, using things such as Belkin’s WeMo Switches or Philips Hue Lighting. Surely, using the iWatch is the next step.